More magic in Manila for Mario
Actor Mario Maurer is a star in the Philippines as well as Thailand thanks to his movies "The Love of Siam" and "A Little Thing Called Love", each of which was a thrilla in Manila. Mario won the Best Actor award at the 2008 Cinemanila International Fi
He paid the fans there another visit recently as the new presenter of Penshoppe apparel, a gig he inherited from Ed Westwick, star of the “Gossip Girls” series.
And while thousands of fans were giving Mario a warm welcome as he strolled down the runway at Philippines Fashion Week, his agent at PR Asia Inc was nailing down the lead role in a flick for local studio Star Cinema.
Tentatively titled “Suddenly It’s Magic”, it will feature Mario as a Thai superstar having a long-distance romance with a beautiful Filipino woman. His co-star is rising starlet Erich Gonzales, who happens to be a beautiful Filipina.
Sounds like a stretch, but we might get to see them work it out when they shoot some scenes in Thailand.
Typecasting
The Army is topping the best-flood-reliever popularity polls, in part perhaps because of Lt Colonel Wanchana “Phu Pan Bird” Sawasdee, who plays Prince Naresuan in MC Chatrichalerm Yukol’s epic movie series and is now leading the Army charge into the Upper Bangkok Swamp.
Photos of Bird have spread fast on the social media as he evacuates people, distributes supplies and broadcasts his mobile-phone number.
When was the last time a politician gave you his personal phone number? But there was Bird, hollering from the back of a military truck to make sure everyone got his digits right. “I don’t consider myself a star or anything, and when people are suffering I don’t see any problem giving out my number,” he said.
Told that some folks feel sorry for the troops in the waist-deep murk, Bird said, “Don’t feel sorry for soldiers – once they’re soldiers, they know it’s their duty. They choose to do this!”
